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Battle of Dolan Springs
The Battle of Dolan Springs was a small engagement in the NCR Arizona Offensive against Caesar's Legion near Dolan Springs, Arizona, located to the north of Kingman, AZ, and is generally considered part of the larger Siege of Kingman during the year 2282. Background After the NCR victory at the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, the NCR devoted additional forces, including armored, mechanized, and air forces to the war against the Legion, in order to push into Legion Territory. The NCR forces were supported by forces from New Vegas, the Brotherhood of Steel, the Dead Horses, and the Boomers, a coalition against the Legion which was brokered by the figure known as Courier 6. The Courier also convinced the a squad of former Enclave soldiers to join the NCR military. The NCR and allied offensive began with a two-pronged attack directed at the westernmost major Legion stronghold in Kingman, Arizona, with NCR forces attacking both from the north from Hoover Dam along the old US Highway 93, and the west out of Needles, California, along Interstate 40. Battle After a few minor skirmishes with Legion forces along Highway 93, the NCR and allied forces neared the small town of Dolan Springs, about 30 miles north of Kingman, and near a pass in the Cerbat Mountains, at which point NCR and allied forces were to split up, with a half of their force crossing the pass to circle around and flank Kingman from the northeast, while the rest continued to attack the city from the northwest. Realizing the NCR and allied forces outnumbered him, and that the maneuver would cut off his retreat to the Legion Capital of Nova Roma (formerly Flagstaff, AZ), the Third Caesar of the Legion, Aurelius of Phoenix, ordered two centuries of infantry supported by about 30 improvised fighting vehicles and 10 pre-war tanks and APCs to attack the NCR forces at Dolan Springs, intending the delay to allow him to retreat. The Legion forces encountered a two companies of NCR forces, including 300 men, supported by 30 pre-war tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. Among this force were the former Enclave power armor specialists, as well as the two XM58 Self-Propelled Laser Weapon vehicles recovered by the NCR from the Nevada Test Site. The XM-58s were the first to engage the Legion forces, their long-range laser weapons picking off five Legion tanks and 27 armored vehicles. The rest of the Legion tanks and vehicles, with their poorly-trained crews, proved easy targets for the rest of the NCR armor. Even with most of the armor destroyed, the Legion infantry continued to charge, as was often the case with Legion forces, which rarely surrendered. With few anti-tank weapons, and not all of the Legion infantry, particularly the recruits, carrying firearms, the Legion infantry were cut down by the superior firepower and marksmanship training of the NCR infantry, as well as the mounted machine guns of NCR armored vehicles. The battle was a rout, with 184 Legion troops killed, all of their vehicles destroyed, and the remaining 16 Legion survivors taken prisoner. The NCR lost only 8 men killed and 21 wounded in the engagement. Aftermath The Battle of Dolan Springs was a military disaster for the Legion, and showed clearly that, in a conventional engagement with NCR mechanized and armored forces, the Legion was woefully outgunned. While the battle resulted in the annihilation of the Legion forces, it did buy enough time for Caesar Aurelius to escape along I-40, along with his elite Praetorian Guard. The NCR forces would cross the Cerbat Range and reach I-80 east of Kingman, blocking off the road only hours after Aurelius' escape. The XM58 "Laser Tanks" would be deployed on a lookout up a gravel road in the Cerbat Range after positions in the mountains were seized by the NCR Rangers and First Recon. From this position, the XM58s, with their range of up to ten kilometers under ideal atmospheric conditions, could fire on any target in Kingman. Category:Battles Category:Events